Sound Data Management Training

Before The Research - Planning Research Data Management¶

It is likely that some form of data management plan will be required as part of a grant proposal. The data management plan is an opportunity to think about the resources that will be required during the lifetime of the research project and to make sure that any necessary resources will be available for the project.

The main three questions the plan will cover are:

• What type of storage do you require ?
  Do you need a lot of local disk space to store copies of standard datasets ? Will you be creating data which should be deposited in a long-term archive, or published online ? How will you back up your data ?
• How much storage do you require ?
  Does it fit within the standard allocation for backed-up storage ?
• How long will you require the storage for ?
  Is data being archived or published ? Does your funder require data publication ?

Appropriate answers will relate to:

• the types of data you will be using and creating;
• available existing data management resources;
• funder requirements;
• and relevant policies (e.g. research group, institutional).

Additional questions may include:

• What is the appropriate license under which to publish data ?
• Are there any ethical concerns relating to data management e.g. identifiable participants ?
• Does your research data management plan comply with relevant legislation ?
  e.g. Data Protection, Intellectual Property and Freedom of Information

It is likely that actual requirements will differ from initial estimates. Reviewing the data management plan against actual data use will allow you to assess whether additional resources are required.

In order to create an appropriate data management plan, it is necessary to consider data management requirements during and after the project.